As a mechanic, performing service on large heavy duty truck and trailer wheels can be difficult. The sheer size of such wheels makes working with and handling the wheels cumbersome and tiring. This difficulty may be compounded when dual wheels are utilized for certain truck and trailer applications. The dual wheels provide a set of wheels that are more than twice as wide as a single wheel.
Heavy duty truck and trailer wheels generally comprise a rubber tire mounted on a steel rim. An apparatus called a spider is bolted to the rim. The spider provides equally spaced legs that extend radially outward from the center-line axis of the wheel. A web extends between each of the legs. The spider has an aperture coaxially aligned with the center-line axis of the wheel in order to allow for the axle of the truck or trailer to extend therethrough. A brake drum attaches to the spider via bolts, and the bolts extend through the webs of the spider and into the brake drum. Brake shoes are mounted to the axle of the truck or trailer and engage the brake drum to slow down and stop the truck and trailer.
When servicing the brakes on a heavy duty truck and/or trailer, it is often necessary to remove the brake drum. To accomplish this, the brake drum bolts must be loosened and removed in order that the brake drum may be disconnected from the spider. Since the brake drum bolts utilize a threaded bolt and a nut, it is necessary to secure the nut on one side of the wheel while loosening the bolt on the opposite side of the wheel. To accomplish this task, the mechanic must reach around both sides of the tire(s) to secure a socket on the nut while ratcheting the bolt loose from the nut. This is a cumbersome and difficult task when handling one wheel; however, it becomes an even more difficult task when handling dual wheels. Therefore, it is sometimes necessary to utilize two mechanics to remove the brake drum bolts from the truck and trailer wheels.
Other attempts have been made to secure the nut on the back side of the wheel while ratcheting the bolt from the front side of the wheel. Vice grips, pliers, wrenches, and other tools have been utilized in an attempt to secure the nut without having a mechanic hold onto the tools. However, upon ratcheting the nut from the opposite side of the wheel, the vibration shakes such tools loose from the nut, thereby preventing the tool from stopping the nut from rotating.
It would be desirable to provide an inexpensive and simple tool that would allow a mechanic to easily and quickly remove brake drum bolts from heavy duty truck and trailer wheels without the aid of a second mechanic. It would also be desirable to provide a tool for removing brake drum bolts from a heavy duty truck or trailer that could be utilized on various size truck and trailer wheels.